This invention relates to an apparatus for cutting through the outer protective sheathing of a cable for exposing the core of the cable, and to a method for removing a section of the sheathing.
There are numerous instances where a plurality of individual wires, optic fibers and the like, each for conveying data, electric power and the like, are grouped together in a common cable (also referred to as a "harness"). The wires, fiber optics, etc., hereinafter referred to as "strands", are generally individually insulated and are tightly bunched together to form a central core which is wrapped around with a protective sheathing. At various points along the length of the cable it is necessary to cut through the protective sheathing for exposing various ones of the strands for splicing connections thereto. Generally, for providing access to all the cable strands at each splicing point in order to identify the particular strand or strands to be spliced, a short length of the sheathing is removed from around the entire periphery of the cable.
Traditionally, simple hand tools, e.g., knives and pliers-like cutters, are used by skilled technicians for cutting away the cable sheathings. In the cutting process, great care must be exercised to avoid cutting through the cable strands. Also, in instances where the cables are "armored", i.e., including metal layers and/or wire meshes in the protective sheathes, the cutting process can be quite difficult and time consuming. Additionally, raggedly cut edges of the metal layers can be dangerous.